Will Amy Goodman Break the 9/11 Media Silence?

Is Amy Goodman part of the “silent majority” when it comes to questioning the official 9/11 story?

For a journalist, when something cannot be said, the silence is the most important story. Many people believe that Amy Goodman, host of the popular public radio and TV show Democracy Now!, is among the best when it comes to confronting people in power and asking hard questions. She may be one of the best, but her silence about 9/11 is stunning. For example, she has yet to tell her audience or her readers that nearly 2,000 architects and engineers – all verified and vetted – are calling for a new investigation of the destruction of the three World Trade Center skyscrapers on 9/11, citing evidence of controlled demolition. That should be headline news for a journalist whose self-described role is to report on alternative voices excluded by the mainstream media.

Goodman is an accomplished author and syndicated columnist, and Democracy Now! airs on more than 1,000 television and radio stations in 35 countries. She is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” for “developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.” Goodman was also an eyewitness to the destruction of the WTC skyscrapers on 9/11; video footage from that tragic day appears to show her ducking for cover with other bystanders as WTC7 came down at free-fall acceleration. However, she won’t report about the calls for a real 9/11 investigation that have been made by thousands of technical professionals and over 100 family members of 9/11 victims.

Last fall, Goodman launched a 100-city tour promoting her new book, The Silenced Majority, along with her co-author, Denis Moynihan. As they describe their book, it is “intended to provide a vivid record of the events, conflicts, and social movements that are shaping our society today. The book gives voice to ordinary people standing up to corporate and government power across the country and around the world. Their writing and daily work at the grassroots public TV/radio news hour Democracy Now! casts, in stark relief, the stories of the ‘silenced majority.’ These stories are set against the backdrop of the mainstream media’s abject failure, with its small circle of pundits who know so little about so much, attempting to explain the world to us and getting it so wrong.”

AE911Truth activists brought this poster to Amy Gooodman’s book signing to call attention one of the most silenced news stories in America

On September 26, the book tour came to the University of Connecticut with a presentation, followed by a book signing, at the UConn Student Union. During Goodman’s presentation, she mentioned that all news about the conflict in East Timor was obliterated from the media and was not mentioned once from 1975 until she was assaulted and beaten in 1989 (which made the news). She mentioned how the police have been militarized since 9/11 and gave personal examples of how this has affected journalism. She mentioned 9/11 many times as being a significant event that has precipitated the loss of our civil liberties, but not once did she mention anything about the overwhelming body of evidence questioning the official story of what happened on 9/11.

In advance of this event, our local AE911Truth Action Group researched Amy’s history of reporting on 9/11 and found out that she did have an “interview” with producers of the 9/11 Truth documentary Loose Change in 2006, which included the surprise addition of two editors of the Popular Mechanics series, “Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts.” The interview pitted the professional “hired guns” from the Hearst Corporation, owner of Popular Mechanics, against the courageous young filmmakers in an ill-matched debate.

As Amy Goodman talks with some of her fans, AE911Truth Congressional Outreach Team leader Wayne Coste (left) prepares to deliver an important message to her

The only other time Goodman has dealt with the 9/11 Truth issue on her show was in August 2011, when she interviewed the head of the Internet Archive about the BBC news report in which Jane Standley reported the fall of WTC7 – 20 minutes before it occurred.

AE911Truth supporters and WeAreChange activists have asked Goodman about the 9/11 evidence on many occasions, and she has given a lukewarm response, sometimes claiming that she supports a real investigation and sometimes ignoring the question altogether.

To highlight her reluctance to speak out about the 9/11 tTruth issue, we developed a quarter-page flyer and a large 30-in x 40-in poster that said:

“Newscasting is the art of the Story and the Silence; When something cannot be said, the Silence is the most important Story; Amy Goodman cannot say: “Nearly 2000 architects and engineers have signed a petition calling for a new investigation into the destruction of the three World Trade Center Towers on September 11th, citing evidence of controlled demolition with pre-planted explosives.”

We handed out the quarter-page flyer until we were told to stop because “canvassing or soliciting” within or around the UConn Student Union was not allowed without a permit. I was told I could not display the poster so that the text and image were visible, because that was also considered to be soliciting or canvassing. Following this warning, I grudgingly joined the “silenced majority.”

During the book signing, I brought the poster back out and ignored warnings from Student Union security personnel to turn the poster around so that the text and image could not be seen. When the security officer said that it would be necessary to call the campus police, I responded, “I am here with Amy; we are breaking the silence together!” Denis Moynihan waved off the security staff, indicating that they were not to call the campus police, so I remained visible with the poster until it was time to get my copy of the book signed.

When I asked Amy to sign my book, I introduced myself. I told her,

“You were one of my heroes… but I hold AE911Truth founder Richard Gage, AIA, as an even greater hero, since he works tirelessly to get out the truth out about what really happened at the World Trade Center on 9/11.”

In the end, Wayne was allowed to approach Amy Goodman and display his informative poster, even though she sidestepped any discussion of 9/11 Truth

Using a sticky note like everyone else, I asked Amy to write “Wayne, keep trying to break the silence.” (As a volunteer who commits many hours per week to Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, breaking the silence about 9/11 is my focus.) However, all she wrote was “Wayne, Democracy Now!” I guess she does not want me to break the silence about what really happened on 9/11, but perhaps she will watch Experts Speak Out and somehow find the courage to take a stand.

Goodman appears to have fallen more in line with the mainstream media by ignoring the 9/11 Truth issue, but don’t let her inaction stop you from taking action. Join us by signing our petition, becoming a member, and volunteering on one of our many vital teams, and help us continue to break news barriers around the world.